Hit the books

They say some people tend to sleep a lot when they are dealing with big changes. You know, sleeping it off as they might say, letting the brain sort itself out or something. Or well. Maybe I was just really tired. I mean for one, I don't even remember going to sleep.

(Ughh, why do I feel so sore?)

I groan as I open my eyes, to get greeted by a white ceiling. At least, I fell asleep in an actual room and not under a tree or something. I close my eyes again as I lift my arm up and land it on my face. Or, that was my initial aim, as my hand landed on my mask instead.

(I didn't take off my mask again? Huh, figures.)

I lift my mask and rub my eyes as I get up to a sitting position. And, upon opening my eyes, I see that it was not just the mask that I did 'not' take off.

(I slept with all my clothes on? Even my shoes? Ohh boy, somebody is going to be pissed at me for ruining the bed.)

The open window to my right, was letting more than enough sun inside to light up the room. Along with a cold breeze that kept creeping up on my face, helping me shake off that annoying drowsy feeling. I let out a slight sigh and shook my head as I slid to the bottom of the bed so I could sit normally. I then rest my elbows on my knees and I look straight ahead, at the giant mirror that was on the opposite side. My sight immediately falls on the assault rifle that was still strapped on to me...

(Well, no wonder I'm so sore.)

I look away from the mirror and turn my sight to the rifle. The safety… was still off.

Whatever drowsiness I had quickly disappeared, as I started to remember yesterday's events. I rested my thumb on the safety switch and flicked it back on. Then let out a sigh, thanking the stars that I didn't turn and toss as I slept...

(So I went and did it. I've actually killed Tsunoda and Shido. It's not like they didn't have it coming though. Letting them walk would have ended with more people getting killed because of them. But still, am I supposed to feel nothing about it right now?

Because… that's exactly what I feel, nothing. I don't feel conflicted, or think that I could have handled it in a better way. Nor do I feel any sort of grief or remorse for killing them. I mean, sure I hated them. But, did I really become so numb after just a couple of days into the outbreak? To shoot somebody in the head and just walk it off? To look at a person being eaten alive and not even flinch, even if it was Shido.)

I lift my head and look back at my reflection on the mirror.

(Sadly, I don't think that's a question I can actually answer. Also, I have a bigger problem to deal with right now, that, being 'my' group. Should I come clean and tell them about it? Holding secrets will only cause problems down the road. But, how will they react?...

Takashi in the anime tried to stop Rei from killing Shido one too many times,9 even after they arrived at the estate and he found out why she hated him so much. So he's probably against killing living people. And, whether I like it or not, he has a strong voice in the group.

Rei will probably side with Takashi, and I have no reason to think otherwise. She would probably be fine with the fact that I killed Shido, but I don't know how she would react to the fact that I well, killed someone.

Kohta… Kohta is a wild card in this matter. He was capable of shooting that cop girl he liked, even if that was a mercy kill, which is quite different from what I did. But, he should be able to understand, I hope.

Saya I can't really tell. In the anime it was never really shown how tolerant she would be of such an action. Or if it was indeed shown, I don't remember it.

Shizuka would definitely be against it. But then again, I can't bring myself to think that she would agree to for example say. Kick me out of the group.

On the other hand, I don't know her all that well either.

Alice, yeah, not gonna count her. But, if she was scared of me before. Well, she has one more reason now.

And lastly, Saeko. Secret sadist aside, she seems like somebody who would understand, I think.

So that's, three that would probably have a negative reaction, two that will probably be understanding, and one that I have no idea how they would react…

Yeaa, now I know how some characters feel when they are making a decision that feels 'right', but looks completely wrong when looked at from another person's perspective. I think, I will keep my mouth shut. After all, shooting somebody should be a last resort. Or well, I need to make sure it would be a last resort. Then again, in the world we are now, there will be people that will shoot first, ask questions later. Acting passively against them would be equal to suicide. Or worse. Guess, I will have to do as the ancient Greeks said, 'everything in moderation'. Although I don't think they actually included killing in that 'everything'...Uhhh… I… I need to get it the fuck together...)

I lower my head and give it a couple of slaps from both sides at the same time.

(You knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. What's done is done. I simply did what I thought was the best course of action, and I do, still think that it was the best course of action. I have bigger problems to deal with right now. Problems such as nukes, corpses and derailing trucks.)

I switch the rifle's safety off, then back on again and reach for my cell phone in my right pocket, only to find the pocket empty.

(Uhhh, ohhh right. They took my phone after I got arrested. I should go ask Yuriko to give it back.)

I get up from the bed, lower my mask, and stretch as I turn towards the door.

(Ok, let's get going, we got stuff to do.)

I move to the door and twist the handle, but the door stays closed.

(Hmm, locked?)

I looked at the door to see the key was in the keyhole.

(I locked the door? Wonder what other crap I did that I don't remember… )

I unlock the door and open it, then move to the hallway outside, and look around.

(Hmm empty. At least there are no guards by my door, so I guess I'm no longer a prisoner.)

With no destination in mind, I take a turn to the left and start walking down the hallway.

(Gotta find Saya's parents and get my phone back, gotta check the internet. Internet, last time I checked, it was still alive. But that was two days ago or so? Still, as long as some power plants in the local area keep running, I should hypothetically still be able to log in on some sites. And it's still too early for all the power plants to burn out because of the lack of maintenance and/or lack of personnel. So either I get my phone or find a computer in the estate and then I could gather information on things I need to know.

Stuff like H.A.N.E distance and damage to electrical devices. And more importantly, DIY survival tricks, like water desalination, starting up fires, all the good stuff. I 'had' several printed papers of that crap back in my house, but I didn't take them with me because I'm a fucking idiot. Or I didn't think I'd survive this long to worry about it and was too laser focused on surviving the first day.)

I was starting to wonder why the hallways were devoid of life. When I noticed, after looking out of the window to my right, that everybody seemed to have gathered outside. Also, the rest of the vehicles from the powerplant had returned. I move closer to the window and look outside. Saya's dad was standing on a big platform-like structure, looking at the mass of people that had gathered to it

(Was that always there?)

It looked like he was speaking to said masses about something. I could not really hear jack from up here.

(To be honest, it looks like that platform from the anime, where he decapitates that zombified guy that was supposed to have worked for him for a very long time or something. Except, this time that guy ain't there. Was he already executed? I don't see a cage though.)

I turn away from the window and continue walking down the hallway.

(No matter, As I now have to wait for them to finish before asking for my phone. I could search the house while they are busy for some kind of computer… Nah. I'd rather not start sniffing around the house without permission, lest I get on the bad side of Saya's parents for sticking my nose where they don't want.)

I kept walking down the hallways until I found a set of stairs to my right that led to the lower floor. So I turn to the right, and go down the stairs. Then keep going straight towards the open door that led to the giant yard in the front of the house. The same yard that everybody was gathered at.

(Hmm, the refugees could still be thinking that I might stab them in their sleep because of Shido. Better stay in the corner for now.)

With that, I exit the front door and look around the courtyard. Right now, the mass of people was to my right, towards the center of the yard, with Souichiro speaking to them. The main part of the house behind him.

As I Couldn't go towards the main house now with 'that' going on, I turned to the left and kept walking, until I found a nice shady spot under a tree to sit down, then turned my sight towards Souichiro's group once more.

(I also need to find some ammo for my guns and...ughh, where is a pen and paper when you need it. I'm definitely going to forget something like this... )

And then, I just stayed there… waiting. I spent God knows how long looking at a speech that I could barely hear. Until finally, after a long drag, I started to see people that slowly broke away from the mass, walking towards the refugee camps.

I nod, get up, and slowly start walking towards where Souichiro was at.

(Come to think of it. I'm really lucky I know Saya, otherwise, they would probably throw me out to sleep in a tent or something. One more thing I owe to our pink-haired tsundere I guess.)

As I kept moving towards Mr. and Ms. Takagi, I also spotted my group, all gathered up on the platform and next to Saya's parents.

(They are there too? Ehh, of course they are there. So, uhh, let's see. They will probably ask me why I went full on edge-lord mode when I brushed them off yesterday at the gates. And 'Me sleepy' ain't gonna cut it. Gotta think of something, or improvise. Won't be the first time...)

With that in mind, I kept a steady pace towards my destination. To be honest I did get a couple of side glances from the people that were leaving. But none of them spoke up or tried to do something. Though, if they believed Shido, it would make sense they would not try to tick me off… At least not when I had two loaded guns on me...

Now sadly, by the time I arrived at the platform, Saya's parents had already returned into the main house, so I couldn't ask Yuriko about my phone. My group was still here though, so maybe I could ask Saya if there was a computer here I could use.

(Well, let's get this over with. Who knows, maybe I'm just overthinking things here. And they won't try to drill me for an explanation.)

I got up on the platform and walked towards the group while they had their backs turned to me. All dressed up in their 'estate' attire. Saeko in the kimono, Saya in that frilly dress, Kohta in his green jumpsuit thingy and so on.

(Looking at their new clothes reminds me that I need to take a bath and change as well. Wonder if they have anything black in here.)

And, as I got closer...

"...t your dad is really something Takagi." I heard Takashi speaking.

"Oh, yes. He's 'amazing' alright… " Saya's voice, had an obvious tinge of sarcasm in its tone.

(I will go on a limb and say that Saya has yet to reconcile with her parents. Otherwise she wouldn't sound so 'toxic' when talking about her dad.)

"At least the people here no longer listen to Shido, hope the bastard dies out there." Rei speaks up right after Saya.

(Uhh. Wish granted?)

"Rei, while I admit he is a horrible person. Don't you think that that's a bit harsh?" Takashi turns to look at Rei with a concerned look on his face. She just stares back at him silently for a while, before turning her attention back towards the refugees.

(Yeah, I think not mentioning how I let Shido get eaten alive after I passed a bullet through Tsunoda's head is for the best at the moment… )

"And we have other things to deal with right now, Sepfier has still to explain why he acted like that at the gates." Takashi then continues to speak.

(And of course, mister group leader is going to stick his nose in everybody's business...)

"He said he was tired, Takashi, is it really that weird? I am sure he will explain if we just ask him after he's up." Kohta turns towards Takashi as he speaks.

To be honest it felt good, to hear Kohta defending me while I was not present. Also, speaking of being present, I think it was about time I stopped 'creeping'.

"And I also had to play the pied piper with a horde of corpses. So excuse me if I came off as hostile. I was pretty much running on fumes when I arrived. That's all there is to it." I speak up as I start walking towards the group, causing them to turn around and stare at me.

"That's all I got as an explanation. Also, uhh. Good morning? It is morning… right?" I ask as I look around. And after a couple of seconds passed, with the group still staring at me like I'm some sort of idiot.

"It's almost seven am, Naier. You have been asleep for about fifteen hours." Saeko finally breaks the silence.

"Well, I did tell y'all that I was tired. Didn't I? I always used to sleep a lot so, I guess it just caught up to me… " I put my hand under my chin as I slightly lowered my head, as if I'm telling something serious and profound. The group just stayed quiet as they stared at me.

"Wait..." And Saeko speaks up again.

"So what you are telling us is. That while you were tired enough to ignore your surroundings. You decided to go to an infested power plant, and act as bait for a horde? Alone, without telling us a thing? And after you got back, you decided to wait outside of the estate by yourself?" She folds her arms as she 'barageses' me with questions.

(And, I just dug myself a hole...)

"Uhh… noooo?" I 'answer' as I shrug my shoulders slightly.

(Yeah, there's no way she's buying that.)

"Naier… " Saeko narrows her eyes as she stares, scratch that. Glares at me.

"Fine, I messed up, I was tired and made a couple of bad decisions. You made your point. Ain't gonna happen again, promise." I say as I raise my arms in defeat. Saeko, just sighs.

"If you understand." She then turns around.

"Mister Takagi asked me to meet with him after his speech was done, I should not keep him waiting." She says as she starts walking away towards the mansion, only to stop a couple of steps later, turns around, and look at me.

"One pm, be at the dojo Naier." She turns around one final time, and leaves for good this time.

(And… she's still pissed.)

I turn to look at the group, to see them all still staring at me...

"You people, do understand that she will try to beat the crap out of me right?" I say as I point my finger towards Saeko's back.

"Yeaaa, sure. Beat the 'crap' out of you… " Takashi speaks up as he glances at Saeko a couple of times, he also sounded a bit, sarcastic..

"Humph, I hope she does exactly that. Maybe you will stop being such an idiot then." I turned to the whiny voice to see Saya, who had her arms folded under her chest and was giving me one hell of a glare.

"Actually, you have a dojo here?" I 'asked' trying to 'change' the subject.

She keeps glaring at me for a few seconds, until she finally speaks up.

"First floor. After the main door, go left and then straight. It's the only door at the end of the corridor." She says as she turns her head towards the house.

"And. What time is it now again?" I ask once more.

"Seven AM…" Shizuka speaks up.

"Umm, one last thing. Does this house have a library?" I fold my arms and look back at Saya.

"Through the main door, then right and then the first door to your left. But, why are you asking?" She asks as she raises an eyebrow.

"Other than finding how to deal with broken bones? I would rather have some books or take some notes with information on basic survival methods. And if possible, information on how to maintain energy generating equipment and/or how to do without them. I would rather be over-prepared, rather than unprepared..." And as I spoke, the group. Just stared at me, like a pack of fish.

(Really now?)

I sigh, and take a deep breath.

"I don't mean to be the bringer of bad news people. Especially after yesterday's little stunt. But you do realize just how dire our situation could become don't you? Take a scenario that will come sooner or later, a mass blackout. Because even though Sou… is doing his best, the power plants will go silent sooner or later, without the industrial capacity of the world to keep their condition.

How will you cook if you don't know how to light up a fire? How will you get clean water if the water taps run dry? How will you make an efficient light for the night without spending every single candle in existence? Or making a barricade that won't give way the moment some force is applied to it. And the list goes on and on..." I fold my arms as I keep speaking.

(Stuff like that, was never really mentioned in the anime. And if it did get mentioned, then it got passed up pretty fast, or got sugarcoated by a ton of fanservice a minute later. Now, there was nothing to sugarcoat. The danger was real, and it's coming at full speed.)

I also knew that talking about it would not be nice, but the group's facial expression turned way too grim nonetheless. Other than Saya that is, who just had a serious expression as she stared at the ground.

"But it won't get to that, right? People are already working towards fixing things, surely they can handle it right? Even here, Saya's parents are already fixing the power plants..." Rei was the first one to speak up.

"Yes, it might even be possible that the military has already handled the issue with the corpses, and is clearing them out from one side of the landmasse as we speak. But, would you rather place all your bets on one pile? Because if something goes wrong, you'll lose everything. I would rather keep a small amount on hand as insurance if nothing else. That means being self-sufficient. In other words, knowledge. Knowledge on how to make a car work, so you can have a hope of fixing your main transport if it breaks down. Knowledge on how to set up solar panels so you can have electricity if the grid fails completely." I stop speaking and glance towards Saya's house.

"I'm not saying we are going to pioneer rebuilding the world by ourselves, or that I have no faith in the people working towards fixing this mess. I mean hell, they know that stuff better than I do, and have more resources. But we need to be able to at least fend for ourselves… for the time being at least." I sighed as I looked at the group, to see them looking uncomfortable as hell...

"Look… I'm not trying to bring you all down to the dumps or anything like that. But this is our current situation right now. So with the resources we have at hand, use the time you have to your advantage.

The internet should still be functioning as the societal breakdown shouldn't have affected it yet. But we don't know if that will be the case after the first outage comes. Maybe the servers will need to be manually restarted or something, I don't really know how the internet works so I don't know what will happen. My point is, use your phones, search the internet while it still exists, look up on things that you would consider necessary. Then write them down or something, just to be safe..." I add up as I fold my arms.

(It will also keep you all from bickering with each other...)

The group just stared at the ground, nothing saying anything back at me…

(Ohh, For crying out loud. Why do they look like a bunch of kids that just got scolded. Talk about switching roles… )

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to take my paranoia to the library now. Uhhh, actually. Takagi, do you know where your mom is at? She confiscated my phone back when we were at the Humvee." I turned to look at Saya, who just looked at me and nodded.

"Go up the stairs after you enter the house. Mama usually stays in the first room you will find to your right side after the stairs." I nod at Saya, and start walking towards the house.

(I hope I was not too harsh on them. But, at least it stopped them from drilling me about yesterday. Or well, drilling each other overall.)

And so, a couple of minutes later, I was in the house's main hallway. I took a moment to look around at the insides of the luxurious building.

(Let's see, straight up the stairs then right is Saya's mom. First floor, to the right is the library. First floor to the left is, my funeral.)

I chuckle as I move up the stairs and then turn to the right before walking towards the first door to my right. Once there, I knock on the door.

"It's open." A calm female voice answers back.

I open the door and move inside. Saya's mother was indeed inside, sitting in front of a desk on the other side of the room, a set of papers in her hand.

"Oh?..Naier? Slept well? The others told me it was like you fell into a coma after returning." She asks after she lifts her head and looks at me.

"I could sleep for another fifteen hours if I had the chance." I say jokingly as I scratch the back of my head. Yuriko, just smiles back at me.

"You need me for something? The engineers have returned from the powerplant today morning and we have a lot of work to do." She answers as she glances back at the papers.

"I just want my phones back. The ones you took after you umm, arrested me." I say as I tilt my head.

"Hmmm, ohh yes. I do have them here..." She opens a drawer in her table and after a bit of shuffling, she takes two phones out and puts them on the table, and then looks at me.

"One of them isn't yours, is it? They have a different name, number, and address. Or you have a double life?" She asks with a chuckle.

"Yeah one belonged to a deceased student, figured I could use it as a distraction of sorts."

(I mean, he, she? Is probably deceased. I never really bothered to learn who was in my class and, I don't even remember their faces now to be honest. Uhh wait, if they know that, that also means they searched both phones. Good thing I barely used it for uhh, stuff I'd rather not have other people find out...)

Yuriko nods and returns to her papers, I move the table and take the two cellphones.

"Thanks." I say as I put them in one of my side pockets, only getting a hum from Yuriko as a response. I then turn around, and walk towards the exit.

(Next stop, library.)

As I open the door, I stop and turn around towards Yuriko.

"Actually, does the library have a printer? If not, any paper and pencil?" I ask with my hand still on the door's handle. Yuriko raises her head from the documents and thinks for a second.

"I think the printer ran out of ink a couple of days ago. Here, you can have these" She opens the drawer again, and pulls out a multi-subject spiral textbook along with a pen, then slides it to 'my' corner of her desk.

I walk back to the desk, pick up the book along with the pen, then turn around to leave again.

"...watch after my daughter, alright?" Yuriko spoke up while I had my back turned to her.

"Kohta and Takashi should be better suited for that task. Apparently I'm prone at making bad decisions lately..." I say as I slightly turn my head back towards her.

"Yet so far, you're the only one that I see trying to 'do' something, other than wandering around like a lost kid that is." She answers back.

"... I'll see what I can do." I say as I start walking again.

(Weird, is Saya talking about leaving the estate already? I mean why would Yuriko ask anybody to protect her daughter when she is still within arms reach?)

With that over, I closed the door behind me. After thanking Yuriko of course, and headed straight to the library on the floor below.

(I forgot to ask Saya what type of books the library has. It will be quite funny, if after that whole speech with the group, all I end up finding in the library is romance novels)

So, with a short walk down stairs, and a right turn after I reached the bottom floor, I was at my destination. The door to the library, was a large brown door with carved wooden, leaves?

(Fancy door, then again, this whole house is fancy.)

I opened the door and walked inside. And, I got to say, I was impressed.

(Well, holy shit. When did I end up in Hogwarts?)

The room was vastly different from the rest of the building. For starters, instead of marble, the floor was made out of wood. Then I could see several desks neatly lined up next to me on my right. The rest of the room was dominated by three long rows of bookshelves that hogged almost the entire room. And, on the opposite wall from where I was, a couple of windows.

The room was also rather chilly compared to the rest of the house, and it also smelled like… books.

(Won't wood make this place fire-prone though? Though, I guess a room filled with books is already fire-prone as it is. Uhh, no matter, time to do what I haven't done for half my life.)

I tossed the spiral textbook on a nearby desk and started searching out my quarry.

"Time to read some, books. Some break this turned out to be." I started by looking at what sort of arrangement the books had. And from what I could see, they were organized by genre. The genre itself set alphabetically, starting from the leftmost bookshelf.

(So… Let's see. I should be looking for books about, anything that has to do with self-sufficiency really. Things like Agriculture, Camping, Survival, and I guess some Construction? And lastly, maybe some things that can help me understand how to maintain equipment. Or well, anything that will have information on machinery that I can use to make my life easier.)

After finishing the little pep talk with myself, I start searching the library for anything of value…

It, didn't take too long to hit a snag though.

(Yeah… I'm, already lost. Even with the books set by genre. I don't know what to look for. I need book names.)

I move back to the table with the textbook and sit on a nearby chair, then pull out my phone. In order to search for some information.

(If the internet is still up, I can use it to do a basic search on the books I might need.

Hmm… Let's start with DIY survival tips. Things like using a magnifying glass to start a fire, sheets to collect water, all that good shit.)

I turn the phone on and check the battery. Thankfully, I still had about half a 'battery' left. More than enough for today. I then browse through the apps in the phone until I found the internet browser, and pressed it.

(If I'm too late, then I'm so screwed.)

After what felt like an eternity, the App finally opens. Without any network error.

(Ohhh. Thank you, internet goddess, for not abandoning humanity yet. Huh, internet goddess. So, Nep Purple heart and Co?)

I quickly start typing for DIY survival methods, and then save whatever pages looked interesting so they can be opened offline. Honestly, you never realize what a treasure trove the internet is, until it's almost gone. I could have spent days looking for information like that on this library alone. And still end up finding nothing. Now I was just a button away from exactly what I was looking for.

(God, I will really miss this ease of access to information… )

After saving several pages of one too many tricks and tips on how to survive in a tropical jungle, brought to us by a bored survivalist that wrote the article, I then wrote down the most important things I found in the textbook. From underground campfires and fishing methods, to how to preserve food without a fridge.

(I don't know how many of these things will come in handy as most of them are for when you are out in the wild. And staying out in the open with nothing to block the corpses, is a good way to kill yourself...)

Now, this is where the library finally comes into play. As some sites had a couple of books as 'bibliography' in the end.

"Fat chance books like these will be here but ehh, won't hurt to look." I turned back to the phone and continued searching.

(Next, ways to generate power and maintenance of machinery. Maybe something about how to install or maintain solar panels. Or perhaps how to create rudimentary wind turbines and how to set up safe electric connections, along with how to maintain them. At the very least, how to replace broken parts and other things that can come in handy. Because even after the H.A.N.E blast, some equipment should still be functional… I hope.

Speaking about it, I should also read about emp blasts, maybe I can find a good way to make the others agree on taking some defensive measures, before the shit hits the fan.)

Thankfully, most of the big sites were still up and running, including the video sharing ones. And there were a LOT of videos about technical stuff. Problem was, once the phone was dead, no more videos…

I then leave the phone next to me, letting the videos play as I started jotting down the information that they were talking about. I was actually mostly 'parroting' what I was hearing, copying it to the textbook without really processing the information...

And once again, I noted down any info on books that were mentioned in the videos, on the same page I had written about the bibliography on the DIY tricks. And, after filling several pages with god knows what, I close the phone and lift my head.

(This, is actually kind of fun. But my hand is starting to complain...)

I get up, and rip the page with all the book info.

(Ok change of pace, let's see what Hogwarts has to say about my findings.)

I glance at the paper in my hands and move towards the bookshelves. And so, the battle for my patience… began. How much time did I spend running up and down the room looking for books that could at least partly resemble what I was looking for? I have no idea. And honestly… I found almost nothing. What I did find, when searching the history section, was some book talking about the recorded EMP blasts. After picking that, along with another couple of books, I decided that I had spent enough time looking at fantasy and romance novels, so I returned to my desk with the books under my arm… Only to find the desk occupied.

(Well, what do we have here?)

A certain pink-haired tsundere was sitting by the desk where I had left my stuff on. She was scribbling something in the textbook while occasionally glancing at my phone. I walked up to the desk and left the books on it. Saya lifted her head and looked at me, with a rather serious expression. More than usual I mean.

"Found anything good?" I ask as I sit down and pick one of the books. She turns her head back to the textbook and lowers the video's sound.

"Figured you would need help with this..." She speaks up.

"Because you're an idiot..." She adds in a lower tone.

(Jee, if I didn't know her any better, I would say she is trying to help me but is too shy to just say it.)

"I appreciate the help." I turn my head back to the book as I hold myself back from chuckling.

And this, is how it went on for a good amount of time. Me reading about explosions, and Saya jolting down information on how to start forest fires with milk and corn-flakes. Nothing, really seemed to change as time went by. Until...

"Do, do you really believe it will become as bad as you said?" Saya spoke up.

I lift my head from the bone dry book and look at Saya. She still had her head down looking at the textbook, though I could see that her hands had stopped moving.

"No, not really." I answer. She then lifts her head, and glares at me.

"Then why did you have to say all that back there. It did not exactly help the group's morale, you know." She keeps glaring at me as she speaks. I sigh and take a deep breath as I lean on the desk.

"While I don't believe that we will return to the stone age per se. I do believe we will need to be able to survive by ourselves, and not by hoping that somebody will do it for us. Especially for free.

As an example, take the refugees that are staying here. They're put under the command of the ones responsible for running this place, and with no survival skills of their own, they are effectively stuck here. And, if the caretaker wants them to do something, they will have to pretty much comply whether they like it or not. So, if we are unable to do anything by ourselves, then this will also become our only option." I focused straight in her eyes as I spoke. Though all she could probably see was a mask staring back at her.

"And Rei is right. Your parents, are working on building this place back up. And so far, they seem to be doing a pretty good job at it. So I don't believe it will get 'that' bad." Saya, narrowed her eyes the moment I mentioned her parents, something telling me she just forgot the question she asked me seconds ago...

(Ughh… shit. Just stepped on a landmine.)

"Ohhh, yes my parents are amazing, they instantly got busy rebuilding the world. While they left their only daughter for dead!" Saya shouted, I could see her hands turning into fists.

"They were so busy helping strangers they didn't care for their own daughter! I was trapped in that school while they were playing heroes! They didn't even try to search for me, their only daughter! Some awesome parents they are!" I take a deep breath, as Saya slams the table with both hands. Her eyes, were starting to get blurry.

(What should I say to her now huh? Just mentioning her parents made her snap. She is not wrong though, and she looks like she is about to cry… uhhh.)

I lower my head slightly as I think.

"I won't tell you that you're wrong. They never 'did' give us a reason why they didn't come for you first. But, there's a bring side to it." I say I lift my head and look back at Saya.

"Huh, a bright side?! What can be bright about this?!" She shouts back at me.

"Well, for one, we have a location that is relatively safe from the walking disasters outside. And, well… had they sent a helicopter to pick you up. I would have never gotten the chance to meet you."

(This, this better not have sounded as cheesy as I think it just did. Oh, who am I kidding, any more cheese and it will start training cheese rolls...)

The reply was made obvious though, as Saya's face started to slowly take shades of red…

(She's mad. Is she going to shout? She's going to shout… definitely shout.)

Yet, instead, she just lowers her head and starts 'looking' at the notes on the textbook.

"Should you be saying stuff like that to me when you have a date with Saeko in a couple of hours?" She kept staring at the notebook as she spoke.

(Huh, this reaction, was the last thing I expected to see. Did she just overload or something?

And, a date huh? Yeah, if you're a masochist. Considering how she still seemed to be pissed at me when she left, I might better expect some broken bones too.)

I leaned back on the chair as I folded my arms.

"Date? Yeah, no. She's probably going to try whacking me to death." I say as I tilt my head.

(Great, worst possible thing to speak about, especially with Saya.)

"Ohh please. I have seen how you two speak to each other." She says as she shifts her eyes towards the phone.

(What is this? Judge the Naier day? And how 'do' we speak to each other? I have not noticed anything other than the fact that I call her by her first name. I mean, sure it's something. But is it really THAT big of a deal? Uhh… you know what? Fuck it. I ain't gonna play the stuttering schoolboy to this.)

I lean on the desk again as I fold my arms on the desk

"I won't deny it. Saeko is, an 'interesting' person. But… So are you Takagi. You can take this any way you like." I lower my head and bury my nose to the book in front of me, only realizing what I actually just said to her a couple of seconds later.

(Somebody, please bury me alive. The hell did I just say to her!?)

I keep my eyes on the book, looking around the page without really reading anything. And after what felt like an eternity…

"You… this… still… Takagi... Idiot."

I heard her whisper something. I lift my head and look at Saya, who still had her head almost glued to the textbook.

(Did she just say that, or am I hearing things? Ehhh, fuck it, I'll bite. I mean, I already went this far, might as well sink to the bottom of the ocean now.)

"Maybe, I should start calling you Pink Tornado..."

Saya's shoulders jerked a bit before she lifted her head from the book. I don't think, I ever saw her face being that red before, not even in the anime. I also didn't see, that giant ass book in her hands.

"IDIOT!" Was all I heard as I saw the book flying towards my face. And right before it managed to crash land on my mask.

(H.A.N.E.S? Ohh, nice pick Saya.)

I managed to read the book's cover.